Women Wear Ties

The state of Florida has recently put together a logo to encourage business growth in the state with the catch phrase: “The perfect climate for business” attached. Pretty clever, I thought. As an added touch, the logo has replaced the letter “i” with a tie. Very fitting, one might think, since ties are such a commonplace item in the world of business.

This is a woman wearing a tie. Case closed!

However, as expressed in a recent article posted on Yahoo, the logo has created a bit of a controversy. One person wrote: “Your tie logo is offensive…What, business is men only? Not very female friendly at all,” while another wrote: “With so many new women business owners impacting our economy … you should consider ditching the tie.” Still another wrote: “This logo sends the wrong message… It seems to scream ‘we don’t hire women.’ Maybe that was not the intention, but that is the message.”

Another woman wearing a tie! The evidence is incontrovertible!

What is so sexist about a tie? Firstly, don’t women wear ties as well? Yes they do. And secondly, does the inclusion of a tie imply the exclusion of people who don’t wear ties? I didn’t get that at all. It seems as though this is an interpretation projected onto the logo. I mean, they did put a turban or a Yakama over top of the “o” and “a”, yet I hear no complaints of implied exclusion from any religious groups.

Even in Japan women wear ties!

Pamela Rogan, who is president of the Central Florida chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners said: “I thought immediately that it set us back, all the work that we’ve done… It’s not that they have to make it pink or ‘girlie,’ but maybe put a briefcase or something like an iPhone or a smartphone in there to represent business.” An iPhone? But that’s product placement! And what about people who use Blackberries? Are they going to be less likely to bring their business to Florida because Florida presents itself as an Apple-friendly state? And briefcases? What is some business investors prefer satchels? Would they be discouraged from investing in Florida because of such an exclusion?

This woman is wearing nothing BUT a tie!

Not all women felt this way. One wrote: “Good grief… It’s embarrassing to be a woman sometimes! You really think a tie is sexist? wow. I thought nothing of it. Come on, ladies, show men that we are NOT a bunch of cry babies!”

Yet another woman wearing a tie!

In an interview with ABC News, Melissa Medley, the chief marketing officer for Enterprise Florida said: “If you see a tie, you think business… There’s nothing sinister here. There’s no secret formula [for] how it was approached… I recognize some people might look at that and connect to a man’s article of clothing. Most people do so because they haven’t seen the rest of the campaign.”

Yet another piece of incontestable evidence that women wear ties. This image was NOT photo-shopped!

The real sexists are those who suggest that only men can wear ties. Had the logo made an effort to include a feminised piece of clothing like a skirt, they would have likely been attacked for that too. Some women could have argued that it promoted certain gender roles handed down to women by the hegemonic systems put in place by a patriarchal hierarchy, and that would have been a fair assessment. Instead, a gender neutral article was used and some saw it to be a masculine article of clothing. Those people are the ones guilty of projecting engendered stereotypes. Quite ironic, I think!

Try telling this woman she shouldn’t be wearing a tie.

And yes, I am aware that the images I’ve used illustrating that women wear ties are hyper-sexualized and in themselves can be seen as sexist. That is irony. Also, I once paid a woman who insisted I call her “Misstress V” a fair amount of money to spank me and tie me up, and she wore a tie. So I have even witnessed this in real world experiences, not just via research on the interweb.

Janelle Monáe, a woman, in a tie. Case closed!

And if you wish to see video evidence of a woman in a tie, check out the following video featuring the lovely and very talented Janelle Monáe! If you look closely, you will notice that Janelle is wearing not one but TWO ties in this video!

Jason John Horn is a writer and critic who recently completed his Master's in English Literature at the University of Windsor. He has composed a play, a novella and a number of short stories and satirical essays.

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